The coastal plains along Alabama’s southern edge are flat, and the
line of sight extends to the horizon. Ride east on Interstate 10 out of Mobile and you can see
her distinctive profile from a great distance. One can only imagine the fear
she induced in our enemies as she emerged from the mist on the high seas. She,
of course, is the battleship USS Alabama, docked at Battleship
Memorial Park, just east of Mobile.

To call the USS Alabama impressive would be an
understatement. This magnificent old warship is a study in superlatives and
contrasts. Taller than a 20-story building, longer than two football fields,
and capable of firing projectiles weighing up to 2,700 pounds (nearly as much
as a Z-06 Corvette) at targets more than 20 miles away, the USS Alabama
projected America’s power on the open seas during World War II. She lost not a
single crew member to enemy fire, which led to the nickname the “Lucky A.” The ship earned nine Battle Stars and sailed
just under a quarter of a million miles in combat conditions. She saw action in
both the Atlantic and the Pacific theaters, and when she passed through the Panama Canal, the 680-foot, 44,500-ton Lucky A had just
11 inches of clearance on each side!

After World War II, the USS Alabama was retired from active
service. In 1962 the Navy announced plans to scrap the ship because of the high
cost of keeping her in mothballs, but the good citizens of Alabama would have
none of that. Alabama kids raised nearly
$100,000 in nickels, dimes and quarters, and corporate sponsors coughed up
another $1,000,000 to bring the ship from Puget Sound,
Washington, to Mobile.

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The USS Alabama is in amazing condition; indeed, it looks as
if the ship could go to war today. Being aboard is like being in a movie (in
fact, Steven Seagal used it for the set of the 1992 movie Under Siege).
With armor more than a foot thick above the waterline it’s amazing the USS
Alabama could float at all, but the old girl had a range of 15,000 nautical
miles between fill ups. When she did stop at the pumps, the Alabama took on roughly 2 million gallons!

Approaching the ship highlights the big guns, and when you
get closer they are stunning. Try to imagine nine 16-inch guns, three per
turret, firing away. The ship boasts 20 5-inch guns (two in each of the ship’s
10 smaller turrets), plus another 12 mounts with no fewer than 48 40mm cannons.
And just to make sure, the Alabama
has another 52 20mm anti-aircraft cannons, for a total of 129 guns!

The USS Alabama is only part of the treasure included in Battleship Memorial Park. The park includes the USS
Drum (a World War II submarine), armored vehicles and an impressive aircraft
collection spanning 70 years of military aviation including a B-52 bomber,
numerous fighters, the top-secret SR-71 “Blackbird” reconnaissance aircraft and
assorted other planes. And talk about contrasts: The USS Alabama could touch
just faster than 32mph running flat out on the high seas; the SR-71 cruised at
speeds in excess of 3,000mph. The USS Alabama weighs more than 720 million
pounds; the SR-71 was built from lightweight titanium.

Battleship Memorial Park
is easy to find just east of Mobile
on I-10. You can’t miss it, as the USS Alabama is visible for miles from either
direction, even at night. Admission is only $15, and take our word for it, it’s
the most bang for the buck you’ll ever get. MC

Share your thoughts.

Richard Schlinkert

5/30/2013 3:24:50 PM

Be sure to take a short ride from the Alabama to Dauphin Island to ride the Mobile Bay Ferry across the mouth of the bay to Fort Morgan. From there, ride the beach road through Gulf Shores, Orange beach and Perdido Key and on to Pensacola Beach. Don't miss the new zipline at the beach in Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores or the famous FloraBama Lounge at the state line...

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